The NBA really wants you to watch games in VR

For millions of fans of the New York Knicks, the transfer of Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder in September is a reality only credible in the virtual world of the NBA 2K.

For the second year in a row, the NBA and NextVR will play live from next season of professional basketball in virtual reality, and Anthony’s return to Madison Square Garden (MSG) is one of the first highlights on the calendar.

In this season, 27 games will be broadcast live in virtual reality, six more than last year, through the NextVR application. Anthony will debut with his new team and will make his first trip to MSG on December 16 at 7:30 p.m.

This player has demonstrated his support for virtual reality in the past, attesting that the platform “could give fans at home the opportunity to experience a game as if they were on the court,” the player told TechCrunch Disrupt in 2016.

Even if the games are not transmitted in virtual reality, NextVR will make it possible. The new NextVR Screening Room will allow anyone who logs into the NextVR application with their NBA League Pass authentication to watch up to 13 games of these games at once, on a massive virtual screen. The only thing that will not be included will be the popcorn or the reclining chair.

To get a special seat for the games you will need a subscription to League Pass NBA

Fortunately, Anthony’s return to New York City will be one of four games that will be part of the NBA League Pass, plus a free preview for anyone with compatible lenses and phones. All these benefits are part of the NBA strategy to motivate people to watch live professional basketball games in virtual reality and even NBA become a popular sport to bet on.

Definitely, Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors will once again be the most outstanding team in the NBA in VR with four games in the virtual reality calendar, but the boys of the bay are not the only ones with games that will be played in VR.

On January 6, the Cleveland Cavaliers will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves in a duel between two of the teams that suffered the biggest changes this offseason. The Cavaliers exchanged their star guard Kyrie Irving but added Derrick Rose, Isaiah Thomas and BFF Dwayne Wade of Lebron. In addition, the Timberwolves added three-time nominated basketball star, Jimmy Butler.

The NextVR application is available on Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream. The games are also available in VR on Microsoft’s next Windows Mixed Reality Viewer, from October 17. The first regular-season game, which was part of the VR schedule, was the Houston Rockets that hosted the Dallas Mavericks on October 21.